Second Chance at Love
by chippedcuplove
Summary: Four years ago was when Belle French graduated college with her business degree. She swore to never lose touch with her friends and yet life ended up winning in the end by losing touch with two of them. With Belle and Will happily dating and ready to take the next step, their lives take a dramatic turn when Belle & Rumford reconnect in Storybrooke in this adaptation of The Proposal
1. A Rekindled Friendship

Storybrooke, Maine was a different town unlike any other Belle French knew. She grew up in Melbourne, Australia and lived there until her last year of high school. Moving at an age when you're so close to college and abandoning those plans with your friends is hard on anyone. It didn't help that she had a hard time finding ways to fit into her new high school for her last year in a completely different country. Belle had doubts that she would be able to fit in at the university one town over and even begged her father to let her go back to Australia.

She was not expecting to meet three people on her first day that would be apart of her life during her college years. She was fortunate enough that her roommate was a young girl by the name of Milah Adams. The two became inseparable and Milah was responsible for introducing her to some other friends named Ruby Lucas and Ariel Jones. The start of her college life was starting to be a successful one. Days later she met Will Scarlet in her art class where they bonded over their mutual love for art and traveling. It wasn't until she bumped into Rumford Gold and caused their books to fall to the ground that she was really enjoying her new home. She never believed in love at first sight until she met Rumford, and it only got worse as the stressful years of her college education continued. They both were head over heels for the other and nerves prevented them from pursuing anything.

Belle and Will were offered jobs for two prestigious companies immediately following graduation, so they packed their bags and decided to move into an apartment together. Rumford was always her first real crush during her college days, but that didn't stop her from developing an interest in Will. They loved their lives together and it wasn't until their four year anniversary back in New York when they realized moving back to Storybrooke to put their business degrees to good use would be a better idea. Their small town didn't have much to offer and they wanted to bring some more life to the streets of Storybrooke, Maine.

Will spent the morning of their first full day back investigating property for his art studio, so Belle took the opportunity to shop to pass the time until the evening. She wanted to surprise her parents at home when they would be eating dinner. Belle left Granny's Bed and Breakfast wanting to visit the Storybrooke Free Public Library and then have lunch at Granny's before continuing her shopping spree.

Rumford Gold was in his shop when he noticed the time and closed up for lunch. He ended up staying in Storybrooke after graduation and started a business involving antiques. He always had an interest in history and pawn shops and was doing very well with his line of work. He also owned most of the shops in town, so many business owners hated him for being strict. Rumford always wanted to live a life with no regrets, but not taking the chance to ask Belle out on date was one regret he couldn't stop thinking about four years later. He always seemed a bit unhappy and tried to cope with that by dating Milah on and off since.

He wanted to stop at the library and get some books to read at home before lunch. Not very many people came into the shop to buy things, so his shop thrived off of people bringing objects in for him to repair. That gave him flexible hours so he could have an hour for lunch and not have to worry about people waiting to come into the shop. Rumford saw that the library was empty when he entered except for a woman with brunette hair in one row.

Rumford only wanted a few books and began walking down the rows for them when the woman did the same. The woman, Belle, was looking a bit frustrated as she couldn't find anything. This was her first time in four years stepping into the library and everything changed, but she managed to grab a few of her favorites once she finally saw them. It wasn't until she turned to check them out when Rumford and Belle collided and their books fell to the floor.

Rumford sighed and cursed under his breath for not paying attention as he crouched to pick his up his books. "I didn't see you there." He said, "I apologize." The woman crouched down to help pick up the rest of his books before gathering hers. "It was my fault. I had too many books in my arm to pay attention to where I was going." She handed him the last book. "Here you are. I'm sorry again for bumping into you."

He smiled politely as he helped her gather her books in return. "Thank you. You don't have to keep apologizing to me." Belle bit her lip and nodded. Apologizing for things was always a habit that she was trying to break. "Thank you for helping me with my books." The two stood up with their books in hand and Belle put her purse back on her shoulder when she finally saw his face. Her eyes widened and his reaction was mutual.

"Belle!"

"Rum!"

They exclaimed in unison and hugged each other as best as they could with one free arm. She was hoping to see her best friend again, but never expected their reunion to take place in the library.

"It's so good to see you." Belle said as they parted from their embrace.

"It's good to see you, Belle. What are you doing back in Storybrooke? Are you visiting your parents for the holiday?" Christmas was just a few weeks away now.

Belle shook her head. "Visiting is part of it, I suppose. I just moved back last night with Will. We both want to start a business here after living in New York for the past four years. I'm surprising my parents later tonight. What about you?"

The mention of Will Scarlet made Rumford want to cringe, but he put on that fake smile of his and hoped Belle wouldn't notice. Will and Rumford's friendship was a bit rocky the last two years of college. He always felt like being friends with Belle was a competition because Will was pursuing her as well. "That's.. wonderful news, Belle. I've never left."

Belle smiled. "I'm glad. I've missed you.. Storybrooke. It felt so strange leaving to pursue my career and leaving everyone behind, but I'm so happy to be back now and that you're here. I can see you haven't changed."

Rumford laughed, "Is that a good thing, or…?" He asked while moving towards the desk to check out his books.

Belle followed him, laughing. "It's definitely a good thing."

Rumford smiled at her before handing the librarian his card. "You haven't changed either, Belle. You look great."

"Thank you." She smiled at him. "I have the shops in New York to thank for that." She laughed again. Belle still had her library card and handed it to the librarian when Rumford moved to the side. "I don't know if you have plans after you leave here or not, but I was going to have lunch at Granny's. You're welcome to join me if you'd like."

The two began walking towards the door and Rumford held it open for her.

"That sounds great, Belle. We can catch up better there and you can tell me about your plans now that you're here to stay."

Belle smiled and thanked him before walking out of the library. Rumford stayed behind for a moment smiling at her before following. The feelings he had for Belle were coming back and it would continue as they planned on spending the afternoon at Granny's together. She was still beautiful in his eyes and he suddenly felt nervous to be around her again. He didn't realize that Belle was beginning to feel the same way.


	2. Hamburger & Fries

**A/N: I felt inspired to write the second chapter even though I have yet to receive reviews on the first. I highly encourage you all the post your reviews in the comments section. For those reading this on Tumblr instead of AO3/FF, I would** ** _love_** **to get reviews from you through messages or reblogs. I want to know if you guys like this and if there is anything I can change. This next chapter is not as long as the last one, but it's still rated K as the two are simply reconnecting over lunch. Future chapters will have more adult themes.**

The diner was a short walk from the library as it was across the street. Belle and Rumford laughed from talking about the past and their days in college before Rumford held the door open for her to Granny's. She smiled when they entered the diner and noticed how everything looked exactly how she left it.

"I forgot how much I missed this place. Granny's hasn't changed since I left Storybrooke four years ago." Belle walked over to a booth with Rumford closely behind and sat down.

"Granny doesn't like change very much." Rumford laughed. "You still like to get a hamburger with fries and an iced tea, right?"

Belle smiled and nodded. "You forgot about ketchup."

Rumford laughed. "How can I forget about your love for ketchup?"

Belle smiled as she pushed the menu out of the way a little. There was no need to look at it; she already knew what she wanted. "I still can't believe I bumped into you."

"Our town is much bigger than most people think, so I'm surprised I bumped into you as well. I'm _not_ surprised that it was in the library."

"Many things have changed in my life whether it be big or small, but I can proudly say that the love I have for books is not one of them." She smiled when a waitress approached them with her pad of paper ready with a pen in hand. "What I can get you?" She asked.

Belled handed the waitress the menu she never opened. "A hamburger with fries and an iced tea would be lovely. Thank you." The waitress nodded and turned to face Rumford. "And you?"

"I'll have what she is having." He handed the waitress his menu and she went off to put in their order. "Since you still have a love for books, are you planning on using that business degree of yours to open an bookstore?"

Belle was impressed that he remembered what her major was despite the long four-year gap between them. "That is my goal. I would love to open a bookstore and have it be a coffee shop as well. There just isn't much in our town to offer locals and visitors, so I want to try and change that. I learned a lot while living in New York these last four years." The waitress came back with their iced teas and Belle took a ship before continuing on. "There were several coffee shops like that back in New York and we don't have any in Storybrooke. It's a relaxing place to be if you're stressed. Nothing ever seems to be too bleak with a book and a cup of tea or coffee in hand."

Rumford loved listening to her talk about the things she was passionate about and smiled. "That sounds like a wonderful idea. Have you been looking around for real estate to get started with that?"

"You really think so?" Belle asked with a smile. "I've been looking online to get an idea of how much it would cost. I haven't looked at property since I just got into town yesterday."

"I know it's a great idea." He replied, smiling warmly. "I can take you around town and help you find a few places if you'd like."

"That's really nice of you to offer, Rum. Thank you." She smiled and was relieved that their food came out so soon after that. She grabbed the ketchup and put some on her plate before placing the bottle in front of Rumford for him to use. "Enough about me, Rum." She smiled. "What about you? Are you and Milah still dating? I remember you two dating on and off back in college." She replied, taking a bite of a french fry.

Rumple nearly wanted to run away at the mention of Milah's name. Rumple was always unhappy for not taking the risk to ask Belle out. Seeing her and Will date in college was something that pained him, so he tried to get his mind off it by dating Milah. Their relationship was full of hardships, but Rumford wanted to feel what it was like to be close to someone.

"It's complicated." He was hesitant to even say anything. "She is very busy with her job so she often goes on business trips for an extended period of time. I don't really consider us in a relationship as she is never here and we have split up multiple times... She could be in New York or Boston right now. I have no idea, to be honest."

Belle realized that she asked a question that was very uncomfortable for him and felt bad instantly. "I- I'm sorry, Rum. Why don't you talk to me about you? It sounds like you have been very successful."

"It's not your fault." He replied with a warm smile. "I have a shop a few stores down from the diner here where I sell and fix antiques. I mostly make an income on fixing things when people are really desperate. Most of the people here don't seem to like me since I'm well on my way of owning a quarter of the town."

"Really?" Belle smiled as she took another sip of her iced tea and a bite of her burger. "That's incredible to hear that my best friend owns so much."

Rumford laughed. "I would advise not saying that out loud. Mayor Mills will probably not let you work in this town if she heard you."

The rest of their afternoon went really well. Belle couldn't remember when the last time she laughed, so it was nice to get this moment with her best friend from college. She could feel her heart opening up to him again and tried to fight the feels she was having for him again, but it got worse when Rumford left her to use the bathroom to leave her alone with her thoughts. Her phone went off one second later to a text and it left her speechless. She was not expecting to ever have to see this and yet the idea made her smile a little. Nothing good could ever come from what she just read.


End file.
